In Your Place
by FrozenLights
Summary: Instead of Rin, the Sanbi was sealed into Kakashi. Obito arrives to a different scene. Two-shot.
1. In Your Place

**In Your Place**

* * *

_Was this irony? _Kakashi panted as his attention was divided between watching the cloaked man that had suddenly appeared and listening for his pursuers' approach. He held one hand out to the side, attempting to herd Rin behind him.

Ducking his arm once again, Rin grabbed his shoulder roughly with one hand as she stepped in front of him, "Obito?" Her voice was high and thin, full of desperate hope and confusion.

Kakashi finally brought himself to look at the boy's face and barely managed to hide his flinch. The man's left eye was closed, and in his right, the three tomoe of a sharingan lazily swirled. The right half of the face was scarred – W_hat did you expect? -_, but did nothing to mar the excited smile adorning the man's face.

Rin dug her fingers into Kakashi's shoulder, "How…?"

Obito's smile widened and he started with that sorely missed chatter, "You guys will never believe this – ", when he suddenly broke off and tilted his head to the side, as if he was listening to something. At the same time, Kakashi stiffened and twisted his shoulder out from Rin's grip

It seemed like Obito's situational awareness had improved – wherever he had been. Beneath his mask, Kakashi smirked, "You're late." _But your timing couldn't have been better._ Kakashi could barely hide his grimace as the burn behind his navel grew worse.

Obito snapped out an automatic reply, "Shut up bakakashi!" It was definitely Obito. _It had to be_.

Before Rin could react, he knocked her unconscious with a sharp blow to her neck, caught her, and tossed her body at Obito.

Obito staggered backwards, struggling under her weight, "What the hell Kakashi?"

_Heh. I guess I should have warned him, shouldn't I? _He was out of time, "You're back, you slacker. Did you expect me to watch over her forever?"

_His face is still too expressive_. Before betrayal could fully bloom across Obito's face, Kakashi took another step back, "Take her and go. I'll draw them away."

"What?! We should fight together! With our eyes, there was no need to knock out Rin– "

Kakashi wondered what Obito saw in his eye that made him take a step back with Rin cradled against his chest, "Don't be ridiculous. I don't know where you've been these last few months, but from that catch, you're clearly still recovering; you're barefoot!"

He darted a glance towards the west, before looking back and continuing, "Mist hunter-nin are pursuing _me_; I don't know how Rin found me, but she shouldn't _be here_. She's in no condition to fight, and with you here, there's no way she'd be able to focus." He swallowed, "As we are now, do you think we stand a chance of protecting her?!"

"Kakashi – "

"She cried for you." He turned his back on Obito so that he could face the forest, where the enemy was sure to emerge.

"From the day we buried you. Every day, she cried. Don't make her bury you again."

When he still heard nothing, he twisted his head, "Go!" He studied Obito's stance, trying to commit every last bit of him to memory. Seeing the conflicted expression, he continued in a softer voice, "Go. I'll catch up. Your gift's been really useful, you know? So stop worrying, I'll see you guys in a little bit."

Finally Obito gave him a tight grin, "Of course it was! Rendezvous at the old spot?"

Kakashi nodded.

With one last backward glance, Obito adjusted his hold on Rin and leapt, "Don't be late."

"Yea."

He watched for a moment as Obito disappeared into the foliage before blurring into action. Traps needed to be set if he had any hope of corralling all of their pursuers.

_Sorry Obito. It was about time I paid you back for all the times you made us wait anyway_.

-0-

She felt her chin bounce against something again. Her arms were propped next to her, and swung with every bounce of her head. She was being carried.

As soon as that thought registered, everything rushed back and she began to push against the back that was carrying her, "STOP! Put me down! What-?"

"Stop!" she struck a pressure point on his shoulder with two fingers and immediately the arms holding her legs dropped away.

"Rin, what are you –?" Obito turned around.

"Obito!" She lunged forward to give him a tight hug for a moment, before taking a quick step back, "Where's Kakashi?"

One look at his face and she was clutching his collar with both hands, "Where's Kakashi!?"

"Relax." He brought his hands around to grab her shoulders, "Kakashi said he'd meet us at the old rendezvous point."

Eyes wild, she scrambled at his chest, "No, no. We have to head back, we – "

He pulled her away from him and gave her a soft shake, "Kakashi can take care of himself. He's only going to act as a quick decoy before rejoining us."

When she still tried to pull herself away, he clutched her towards his chest. After a moment, he felt her struggles cease.

"I'm not a doll to be passed around," she murmured tightly into his shoulder.

"What…?"

"When we got back to the village, after you… left, Kakashi didn't cry."

It stung a little, a bit like a dull ache. But before he could process her words further, she continued, "He was too busy hovering over me, trying to keep his promise to you."

She looked up into his eyes, "He was captured last week."

_**Your Bakakashi's movements are becoming slower.**_

_What?_ "What do you mean?" He wasn't sure if he was asking Rin or Zetsu.

_**He's clutching his midsection. **_

"They were targeting us, and he pretended to be me, and they caught him, and I don't know how he escaped but he thinks they sealed the Sanbi into him, and he's hiding something else, but I don't know – "

"The Sanbi?"

_**Don't tell me you don't know about the tailed beasts? Sounds like your friend became a jinchuriki. **_

-0-

Kakashi didn't think Minato-sensei would blame him. This shouldn't count as breaking any sort of promise. Strictly speaking, it was suicidal, but he was protecting the village. There was no other option.

A sudden rush of burning energy raced up through the back of his spine. The spike of pain caused his knees to weaken, dropping him to the ground. Gasping, he hastily shoved the headband over his left eye. When he finally stopped seeing bright lights, he peeked down and lifted his shirt to reveal his belly.

Between the bruises, the seal looked just like it had in the cell. None of the markings appeared to have changed. He wasn't an expert; with her medical training, Rin would have been better at figuring out the meaning behind the marks of the seal. However, he was able to tell that the seal was, without a doubt, designed to be released on command. If he hadn't heard the boasts of his captors, those markings would have raised his suspicions anyway. He held his breath as he looked behind, past the trunk of the tree, for signs of the hunter-nin. Seeing none, he quickly summoned Pakkun.

"Yo."

He would miss that deadpan look. He reached underneath his arm guard and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He held it out to Pakkun, "Can you deliver this to sensei?"

Pakkun nosed at the paper for a moment before staring at him askance.

At Kakashi's solemn but urgent look, Pakkun sighed and bit down on the paper, "Fine."

They both tensed as they heard the mating call of a non-indigenous bird. As soon as the call ended, Pakkun gave Kakashi one last lingering look before leaping away. Swallowing past the pain, Kakashi dug into the tree bark with his fingertips as he pulled himself up in time for three hunter-nin to leap down, surrounding him in a triangular formation.

He grit his teeth and lifted his headband again to reveal his sharingan, causing more pain to lance up from his abdomen. He wasn't sure if it was a bad seal or his implanted sharingan that caused his body to have such a negative reaction to the Sanbi. Either way, he had to hold out until Obito had had enough time to get out of range.

He wouldn't allow himself to be used to destroy the village.

-0-

They arrived just in time to see Kakashi take a glancing blow to his side. Trusting Obito to cover her back, Rin raced forward, sliding through mud –_when had it started to rain? – _to catch him.

She heard Obito release a hoarse scream of rage as Kakashi crumpled. From the periphery of her vision, she could see roots spring out from the ground, waving about like the tentacles of legendary sea monsters. _What had Obito been doing? _Beyond that though, she was more concerned with Kakashi's lack of response to her ministrations. Diagnostics had indicated no poisoning.

From what she could visibly see, there was no reason for his lack of response. What had he endured as a captive of the Mist?

Frustrated with her lack of progress, she sliced open Kakashi's shirt to find the seal glowing and sat back.

_Shit._

She didn't have the expertise for this. Clenching her trembling hands she took a deep breath. It sounded like Obito had the battle under control. She didn't dare look back for fear that her concern for her other teammate would distract her.

What to do? She traced the lines of the seal absently with one hand while using her other hand to slow the bleeding at Kakashi's side.

His breaths were too shallow and she could see perspiration lining his brow despite the coldness of his skin.

It had to be the seal that was affecting him like this. She half-hoped it was at least. She had no idea what to do if it was something else.

Taking one last breath to steady herself, she bit her thumb and began to draw. It was unfair of her to gamble everyone's lives on the little that she knew about summoning. But she couldn't bring herself to care. Her team was almost complete again. She couldn't lose that again.

-0-

"I think he's waking up."

"He shouldn't be. The seal I drew – "

The voices cut off at his sudden groan. The cold drizzle of rain on his face was a small relief.

Everything _burned_.

Slowly, he opened his eyes to see Rin and Obito staring back at him. Obito's face was scarred.

Obito's face was _scarred_. _Itwasn'tadream-_

He jackknifed – or he tried to jackknife before the pain at his side caused him to crash back down with a shout. The faces that had leaned away when he tried to sit up returned closer than before - a little too close for comfort.

He hissed out, "What are you guys doing here?" Then he yelped as Obito punched his shoulder, "Bakakashi!"

Obito yelped in turn when Rin pushed at his head, "Don't hit Kakashi." Belying her words, she flicked Kakashi on the nose, "But he's right."

"I am? I mean – Yea! Of course, I'm right!"

Kakashi couldn't even manage a small smile at Obito's behavior. He never would have thought that he would actually miss such idiotic behavior. Regardless, he managed to push himself onto his elbows, "We were supposed to meet at the rendezvous point."

Obito frowned, "Like we'd leave you behind."

Kakashi erupted, "You weren't leaving me behind! We were going to regroup – "

"As if you had any intention of doing that," Rin whispered.

Both boys paused to look at Rin.

"I – "

"Don't."

She was crying again. She couldn't help herself. "We just got Obito back, and you were going to leave?!"

"I'M A DANGER TO BOTH OF YOU!" The exertion of the shout caused him to fall back against the ground.

He didn't bother to stop Rin as she flipped aside the cloak he was bundled in to examine his body. He raised his gaze though, when she gritted out, "Whatever the danger is, we can surmount it together – _as a team._"

"The mist nin – "

"Obito took care of them."

He started and darted his eyes to examine both of his teammates more closely. He swallowed incredulously, "All of them?"

Rin looked away but Obito stared at him steadily and nodded.

He couldn't breathe for a second at the hope that blossomed in his chest. Quickly, he tried to stamp it down, "You guys still shouldn't be too close to me."

"Shut up – "

"The Sanbi – "

"Will stay put for now, until we get to the village," Rin interrupted, wiping away her tears.

Silence reigned for a moment. Kakashi suddenly realized that he was wrapped in Obito's cloak. Taking in the state of his body, he finally spoke, "That might take awhile."

"Bastard, we're going to carry you whether you like it or not."

Rin giggled abruptly, "Sensei's going to be surprised."

Suddenly remembering the message he had sent, Kakashi closed his eyes, "That's one way of putting it."

Seeing his exhaustion, Rin leaned forward, "Get some rest."

Despite himself, Kakashi could feel the tension leaving his body. For the first time in a long, long time, it looked as if everything just might be alright.

Team 7 was going to be together again.

* * *

**A/N:** Merp. Didn't mean for it to be this long. Had the idea dancing in my head for awhile and decided to let it spew out as a break from writing apps. Oops.

The ending of the story was much more vague in my head… (e.g. whether or not Kakashi had a good compatibility with the Sanbi/if he was going to die, what Obito was going to do about Madara and his reaction to Minato, etc.) Also, couldn't really be bothered to really look up Zetsu... so sorry if he's out of character. Suggestions on improvements are always welcome!

Meeeeeehhhhhh. I need a new brain. Aaaanyway, I should stop dallying and write apps. Bleargh. I'll start work on TT updates tomorrow evening.

As always, I love reviews. Nonsensical reviews (e.g. single letters) are awesome too - just any sort of sign that you've read til the end of the story. Thanks for reading to this point!


	2. One Step Left

**A/N:** Not the happiest with this, but figured I should just get it out before it stagnates and dies. Sorry if it feels more like a prequel than a two-shot, but well, this is my first two-shot :D

* * *

**One Step Left**

* * *

Panting heavily, Hiroma Yuuhi closed his eyes and leant his back against the bamboo. He let his head fall back and bonelessly slid against the bamboo tree until he was sitting on the damp forest floor with his sandaled feet resting flat against the ground. Propping his arms over his knees, he closed his eyes only to wince as Tsume gave him a particularly exuberant shake on the shoulder, "Nice job!"

He opened one eye and managed a nod of acknowledgement in between his gasps. He didn't understand where the girl got her energy.

When he started to cough, he felt the rim of a canteen press against his lips and heard Tsume crouch beside him, "Listen, with your illusions, I think Minato got the last of them. Kuromaru an' I don't smell nothing, so we can prolly stan' guard with Shikuro if you guys wanna rest an' all."

Gratefully, he gulped the water before looking up at her with slanted eyes, "Does Shikuro know of this plan?"

Tsume shrugged with a wicked grin, "He does now, righ'?" She didn't even bother to look behind her to see Shikuro nodding.

Hiroma laughed as his heartbeat finally slowed and tilted his head back in the general direction of his captain, "Minato, what'd your kid send? He knows he's not supposed to be sending you any messages, right?" He sent a sly glance at Tsume and continued, "Or is he like Tsume here, who thinks she can order her sempai around?"

As Tsume began to sputter a defense, _and who did she think she was fooling when she said she wasn't star-struck by Minato_, Hiroma laughed and craned his neck over his shoulder only to frown at the lack of response, "Minato?"

Hiroma could only see the back of the blond's green flak jacket. The man was unnaturally still. At his inquiry, his captain let his hands fall to the sides. Both hands were tightly fisted.

"I have to go."

For a moment, Hiroma didn't comprehend the softly spoken words. _Go where? Didn't we just finish?_ Luckily, Tsume had reacted faster and signaled to Kuromaru, who immediately clamped his teeth lightly around Minato's calf, glaring up in warning.

Shikuro spoke up, "You're in no condition to travel."

Minato turned his head over his shoulder, "It's my students; they're in trouble." He looked back down and locked eyes with the canine, "Let go." With his eyes still staring down Kuromaru, he continued his reply to the Aburame, "Throw the kunai if you need me."

Hiroma watched as Kuromaru broke the gaze with Minato to stare at the pug. Whatever passed between the two ninken apparently made Kuromaru release his grip on Minato's leg. Concerned, Hiroma cautioned, "I thought your students were still in the village."

Minato was already on the other side of the group, reaching for the bandages and haphazardly bandaging his cuts, "Pakkun?"

Hiroma's concern grew at the serious tone in Minato's lowered voice.

The pug huffed out an immediate answer, "Forty-five, five, seventeen... More than three hunter-nin squads were in pursuit."

The tension in the clearing jumped.

As Minato hurriedly tore the bandage with his teeth, he gritted out, "Hunter-nin? Why - ?" He tied off the bandage and stood, "Never mind. I have a seal near those coordinates – should be less than a kilometer away. Can you catch Kakashi's scent from that distance?"

Wordlessly, Pakkun had already trotted up to him, placed a paw over his foot, and stared up expectantly.

Minato smiled. In a flash they were gone. A folded piece of paper floated its way down.

Hiroma squinted his red eyes and gestured, "Tsume!"

Already there, Tsume unfolded the paper slip. Wordlessly, she skimmed the note before handing it to Hiroma. Shikuro stepped over to read the message over Hiroma's shoulder.

_**Deadlast is alive. He and our medic will be at the old cliff. Mist hunter-nin squads may be in pursuit.**_

_**Thank you -for everything.**_

_Well, that didn't sound like a goodbye letter at all_.

The writing was sloppy. Judging by the thickness and color of the lines, Hiroma guessed it was written in blood. He would have felt sorry for what awaited the hunter-nin if he hadn't been so concerned about his damned captain. The four of them had spent the last three months tracking and shutting down what had been Iwa's invading force, the last of which they had just encountered. They were all exhausted, and he had thought Minato had been the most exhausted of them all.

-0-

Tapping her index finger on her lower lip, Kushina frowned. Her other hand rested on her hip as she looked back and forth between the two choices. She had been proud of herself for remembering those stupid lessons about flower meanings, but now that she was in the shop, she wasn't sure what to do.

A bouquet of white chrysanthemums represented grief. It was a traditional choice often seen at grave sites.

But, something about the stalks of pink tinged gladioli just pulled at her. They were occasionally placed before headstones to represent remembrance. While she was less than thrilled at how the flowers could also be used to represent romantic feelings, she couldn't forget how the blossoms also stood for sincerity, integrity, and strength of character.

Obito had always been sincere. She smiled sadly to herself as she remembered Minato's stories of Obito's excuses. She had thought Minato had been naïve for believing the boy until she had seen the kid patiently helping an old lady climb the stairs to the grocery store.

She pursed her lips in thought, before shaking her head. This was taking too much time. Screw tradition. Obito deserved something more eye-catching anyway.

Grabbing a handful of the gladioli stalks, she marched to the counter. In the midst of exchanging pleasantries with the cashier, she caught sight of a familiar kunoichi. Hurriedly, she thrust a fistful of cash at the cashier, waved goodbye, and rushed out the door.

"Mikotooo-oooo-oooo!" Bouncing out the door, Kushina ducked under her friend's punch to latch both arms around the girl's shoulders, accidentally whacking her friend in the head with her recent purchase. "What are you up to?" she chirped.

Mikoto sighed and smiled reluctantly, "Minato hasn't returned?"

Kushina scrunched up her face, "No…It's already been three months." She heaved a sigh and looked absolutely devastated for about one second before visibly brightening and fixing Mikoto with an unnerving stare. "I was just about to visit Obito before hunting down his students. I haven't heard from either of them in a week! Hope they aren't avoiding me. Anyway, wanna come with?"

Mikoto suppressed the urge to shudder and smiled hesitantly, "Aahhh…I need to pick up Itachi. Perhaps another time?"

-0-

Minato _ran_.

He was moving even before the molded chakra of the Hiraishin had dissipated, barely pausing to scoop the small pup onto his shoulder before leaping off. The wind whipped his hair back from his eyes as he jumped from branch to branch.

In her grumpier moments, his fiancé had often accused him as being simple-minded and overly optimistic. And while he wouldn't completely disagree with Kushina's accusations, he would say that it was more that he saw the world differently than most other people.

Sure, his constant deployments out of the village were undoubtedly disproportionate to the missions that his peers in both skill and age had been assigned, but he could understand the effect his presence had on morale in general. He had even understood why his team was sent on their first field mission without him with no backup.

But that didn't mean there wasn't bitterness when he received his directives for his current mission not even a week after Obito had died. _They had been his first team._

He remembered how distraught Rin was and how Kakashi had stared blankly at the funeral. At the very least, Rin seemed to be grieving normally, but Kakashi seemed to almost want to carry on as before. He had meant to invite himself to his student's place, to make sure the boy's fridge was stocked at the very least. Instead, he was practically ushered out of the village not two days after recovering from his last mission, barely an hour after the latest names had been carved into the memorial stone.

He hadn't been able to find Kakashi before he left.

"Blood at your one o'clock," a low gruff voice murmured in his ear. He glanced to the side where Pakkun was sinking his claws into his flak jacket to secure his position.

Minato immediately pivoted, "Kakashi?"

At his speed, the wind was practically whistling in his ears. He felt more than he heard the pup shake his head. _So at least he's not bleeding out. _The number of branches lessened dramatically as he ran until he was forced to drop to the ground. He could vaguely make out thin, sickly looking twisted trees in the distance.

The moment his foot touched the ground, Pakkun leapt off his shoulder. Minato skidded to a stop and fell into a defensive position. The scent of iron – of blood, coated the air. Tagging the tree next to him with a seal in the case a quick retreat was needed, he began to circle the perimeter, edging closer to the center, where the disfigured trees were.

He kept an eye out on Pakkun as he approached. What had Kakashi been thinking, acting as bait for hunter-nin squadrons? Moreover, what was he doing this far from the village with Rin? And what had Kakashi meant by 'deadlast is alive'?

He felt a twisted sort of hope leap in his chest, clogging his throat. Could he have meant Obito? It could explain this latest suicidal maneuver of his, but he had thought Kakashi knew better than that by now. He took another step and stopped.

A cold drizzle had started up, finally breaking the silence that had coated the air. The water splashed down and what he had originally thought to be black soil was dashed into the air. His breath came out in a mist and he finally stood up from his hunched ready position.

If anyone was going to attack, they would have attacked already. He approached the trees at the center of the black lake carefully. A few more steps and the scent of iron was suddenly overwhelming. From this distance, he could see that the trees were more like roots. Several arm-spans away to his left and at shoulder height was a familiar white mask worn by the Mist hunter-nin. The right cheek was cracked by roots that had dug through both of the mask's eye slits and rejoined the main root that reached up to the sky. He tilted his head up. Judging by the height of the roots, perhaps they _were_ trees. Now that he was looking for them, he could see a few more specks of white shining starkly against the twisted roots. He took a step back from what he now suspected was a lake of blood.

_It must have been a massacre_.

Who was the third party capable of doing this? Was Kakashi with them? Or had he been mistaken as one of the hunter-nin?

The air was getting colder as daylight ebbed and the iciness of the rain stung his bare skin. He could vaguely make out an arm in the roots several meters above him. Just then, Pakkun barked.

He twisted and looked back.

At the far edge of the clearing, a few meters from where he had left his seal, Pakkun stared at him solemnly and barked again.

A flash step and a couple leaps later and he was crouching before the dog. "Do you have his scent?"

Pakkun nodded and trotted up. Placing a paw on Minato's knee, the pup added, "I'll direct you." With a small smile, Minato nodded and swung the dog back onto his shoulder. A wave of dizziness hit him as he stood up, causing him to take a sudden step forward.

"You ok?" The dog prodded his ear with a wet nose.

Minato nodded with a small reassuring smile at the small ninken, "I'm fine, which way?"

The pup tapped his left paw twice and Minato leapt towards his 10 o'clock. For a moment, he ran in silence, before he murmured, "I thought Kakashi and Rin were both still on mandatory leave. Why are they out of the village?"

He felt Pakkun shift positions on his shoulder before the dog finally spoke, "Adjust your path by ten degrees."

Obediently, Minato veered to his right and waited.

"Kakashi didn't want to worry you, but about a month after you left, there were rumors that Iwa wanted them, your students."

Minato furrowed his brows, "Iwa?"

Pakkun shrugged, "I don't know; that's the village the rumors first mentioned. I know he got mission desk to assign him and Gai for border duty. Whoever caught him must have thought he was Rin, because when he summoned me to help him escape from the Mist prison, he was still henge'd as her."

"Were they after Rin specifically?"

Pakkun huffed a sound that was half growl, half-whine – the nonverbal version of his 'I don't know.'

Minato frowned as he noted a familiar pattern in the bark. Slowing down, he came across a second mark, "Did you see Obito?"

He felt Pakkun shift again, presumably in surprise, "The Uchiha? I thought he died."

Minato hummed noncommittally, "Maybe. Looks like several people went this way. Is Kakashi's scent any stronger?"

Pakkun sneezed and burrowed his body closer to Minato's neck. Grumpily he huffed, "Yeah, his scent's off too."

Minato stood up and resumed his original pace. Reaching into his pocket, he checked his supply of soldier pills and was dismayed to find only one left. Slipping the container back into place, he queried, "What do you mean?"

"They did something to him when he was captured. He smells dangerous, kind of like your mate."

Blushing at this point would have been welcome, if only for some relief from the cold dreary weather. "Kushina?"

"Somewhat – there!" With that, Pakkun leapt off his shoulder and hopped downwards from branch to branch until he was on the forest floor.

Minato joined him less than a second later and watched as Pakkun nosed around a pile of leaves at the base of a tree. After throwing a weary glance over his shoulder, Minato helped Pakkun push aside the leaves and rocks to reveal a small hole in the ground. At the bottom of the hole was a familiar form.

_Kakashi_.

Immediately, Minato leapt down and crouched next to the still form. Before Pakkun to join him, Minato called out, "Can you stand watch?"

Pakkun frowned but seeing that the man was already occupied with caring for the boy, he grudgingly acquiesced.

"Kakashi?" Minato patted the boy's cheek lightly, but there was no response. Slightly alarmed at the heat radiating from his student's form, he reached inside his jacket and grabbed a flare. He lit the flare by scraping it against the back of his arm guard and jammed the flare into the earth above his head. Under the quivering light, he examined his student carefully as he placed two fingers against his neck. The pulse was slightly slower than he would like.

"C'mon kiddo, can you hear me?" Not expecting a response, he lifted the child's shirt, where he could see bandages peeking out. Sucking in a breath, he frowned at what he saw. Carefully, he lifted Kakashi into his lap so that he could begin unwinding the bandages from his student's lower abdomen. Without looking away, he called out, "Pakkun, do you smell anyone else you recognize around here?"

He cocked his head to the side just as the boy in his arms began to stir. He could have sworn he heard a soft puffing sound, like a muffled version of a summon being dispelled. Immediately, he pried a rock loose from the ground and threw it out of the hole at the same time as he raised his voice the slightest bit higher, "Pakkun?"

The second he heard the cracking of a branch, he swept Kakashi into his arms and flashstepped to the rock he had hurled in time to see two figures leaping down towards the hole. He tensed, ready to disappear into the shadows when Kakashi mumbled inarticulately. Immediately, the two figures swung to face him. He shifted the boy's weight to one hand and prepared to execute a series of one-handed seals when he took a closer look at the figures. The light from the flare in the hole behind them made it harder to see their features, but he'd recognize the female's stance anywhere. Both figures were frozen. Did they recognize him?

Cautiously, he called out "Rin?"

"Sen…sei?" The voice sounded exhausted but painfully hopeful at the same time, nearly breaking towards the end. Before he could say another word, the girl was running towards him.

He swallowed his disbelief and turned his body to shield Kakashi in case this was a trick. He had time to glance at the other motionless figure still standing next to the pit when Rin slammed into him.

She had always been too trusting. He gently pried her off of him and crouched down, "Rin, what are you doing here? Who is that?"

At his words, she wiped away her tears and turned to see who he was looking at. "Obito?" She turned herself around fully and missed Minato's response as he stiffened in surprise and suspicion. "Obito?! What are you doing? It's sensei, come on!"

He could hear the joy and excitement in her voice. Carefully, he reached out to grab her shoulder. When she turned to see what he wanted, he carefully maneuvered Kakashi into her arms, "Can you readjust his bandages? I think I might have ruined your work." He grinned disarmingly and stepped forward, placing himself in between his students and the stranger who still hadn't moved.

"Sensei?" Her voice was softer, covered in confusion at his reactions. Apparently she hadn't missed his defensive stance. "Sensei? It's Obito. Really," she pleaded.

"Rin, can you take Kakashi back a few steps?" He was glad the sky was getting darker, masking the symptoms of his fatigue. Before Rin could protest, he called out to the other figure, "Obito?"

He saw Rin look back and forth with Kakashi wrapped in both arms at the corner of his eye. In a softer voice, she managed, "Obito? What's wrong?"

Without answering, the figure made a hand sign. Immediately Minato stiffened and murmured, "Release!" When Minato looked up, the stranger was gone. _If it was Obito, he certainly had adapted to his sharingan fairly well. _

"Obito, what are you doing? We don't have time for this!" Rin shouted, in equal parts anger and bewilderment. Minato wondered how the stranger had convinced both Kakashi and Rin so well. Before he could ruminate any longer on his thoughts, he heard a soft tap. He ducked instinctively and felt a breeze over the top of hair.

Lashing out with a side kick, he felt nothing but air. Immediately, he kicked out with his other foot, blocking a punch which he used to kick off and propel himself into a back flip. He pushed against the ground with his hands just in time to dodge another kick.

"Where were you?"

His breath caught and he stumbled, causing him to catch a punch to the side. He flash stepped again and felt pain lance down the side of his ribs. _That voice_.

He looked up and felt his mouth go dry as he narrowed his eyes, "Obito?"

Away from the pit, Minato could see the scarred face and the distinctive red eye of the sharingan. He blinked and noted the boy's aggressive posture. But just as he tensed and prepared himself for another attack, the boy fell forward.

"IDIOT! What are you doing?!" Rin was screaming in a mix of rage and impatience. Her arm was still extended in front of her as she yelled, "Sensei's back, you're back, we're together again, so _what_ _are you doing?_!" She swept her arm in front of her to emphasize her point before she sniffed.

Obito was pushing himself up with one hand and rubbing the back of his head with the other in a familiar gesture, "Rin…"

She shook her head and opened her mouth when something caused her to look down, "Kakashi?" She frowned and felt his forehead.

As Rin completely ignored them, Obito looked at Minato. Minato stared back, studying how the boy's left eye was scarred and closed. It wasn't until the boy snapped his head away that he realized that his own expression had changed and softened. With a stifled grunt, he stood up and walked to the boy.

His only warning was a trembling mouth, before the boy wrapped both arms around his waist. Blinking back tears, he smiled and wrapped the boy in both arms. He pushed away his unease and his doubts, his memories of how he'd circled the area several times before he'd been forced to leave, _how did you survive? _Leaning in, he closed his eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Obito shuddered and just shook his head.

"Sensei!" Rin's shout caused both men to lift their heads in her direction. Scooping Obito into his arms _(he wasn't letting go any time soon)_, he hurried over. Her hands were glowing green, hovering over Kakashi's torso. The jounin was shivering badly. She had lifted his shirt and unraveled his bandages. A shallow cut was oozing blood despite her hovering hands.

Minato frowned. The cut was too shallow to be still bleeding.

"…Sen…sei?"

Minato looked up to meet an eye squinted in pain. Gray hair was matted against his forehead. Part of him was ridiculously relieved just to hear Kakashi's voice again. After that letter, a small part of him had been preparing for the worst. He smiled tightly down at his student, "Hey. I'm here." Looking up, he met Rin's frightened gaze, "Why isn't his cut healing?"

Rin flinched as the green glow cast by hands flickered. Gritting her teeth, she glared down at the cut and answered, "I think it has to do with the Sanbi."

Minato snapped his gaze back up from where it had drifted down to the wound, "The demon? You're sure?"

"They sealed it in me."

Minato tilted his head back down at the whispered words and met Kakashi's one eye.

"… 'ke me time-bomb ... 'n village."

He took a single breath in horror and disbelief. It was just one thing after another, wasn't it? The next beat he was grinning grimly as he buried the spark of anger deep down. Kakashi's letter suddenly made so much more _sense_. Reaching out, he squeezed Kakashi's upper arm and ordered, "Stop talking"

"That's what I said," Rin muttered.

He looked back at her. Sweat was beading on her forehead, "Do you know where the seal is?"

Rin bit her lip. She seemed to almost pour the green chakra in one hand into the next. With one hand still hovering over Kakashi's injured side, she reached out slowly and pressed two fingers into the skin just above Kakashi's bellybutton. Immediately, a sickly greenish gray seal gleamed brightly in the darkness, blinding everyone momentarily.

He heard Rin curse as he blinked rapidly to adjust his vision. At the border of the seal was a second fading black seal that almost seemed to be cracking and peeling. Minato lifted Kakashi's shirt higher, "Is that your work?"

As Rin murmured an affirmative, Minato loosened his hold on Obito. Immediately, the boy ducked out from under his arm and moved to sit next to Rin at Kakashi's head. As Minato bit his thumb and began scratching marks over Rin's old work, he overheard Rin and Obito exchange murmurs in the background.

Placing his left hand's index and middle fingers over Rin's, he motioned for her to return her focus on Kakashi's side. The seal created by the Mist wasn't very complex. Though it wasn't immediately apparent, its genius lay within its simplicity. He jerked his hand away just as Kakashi's body was jolted, "Careful!"

"Sorry."

From the peripheral sight, he saw that Obito had moved Kakashi's head and shoulders into his lap, and repositioned his cloak to cover Kakashi's upper torso, presumably for warmth. He noted the stitches that traveled down Obito's sternum.

Someone with unheard of medical skills had definitely helped his student.

He pressed his thumb against his incisor to reopen the cut and continued reinforcing Rin's seal. He was torn between feeling impressed at her initiative and skill and horrified at how closely she had come to breaking the seal. Sending a prayer of thanks to whoever had been watching over his team (_and brought them back to him)_, he finished the last stroke that completed the bordering seal and lifted his left hand.

Immediately, Rin's old marks shriveled up like burning paper. He blinked rapidly to clear his sight. For a moment, it seemed like he was seeing double. Taking a deep breath, he turned his attention towards the nauseating green primary seal.

Squeezing a few drops of blood into his left palm, he dipped his pinky into the small pool and gingerly began making small swirls at five equidistant points around the seal.

"Sensei, are you ok?"

He darted a glance up to see Obito staring at him in concern. Realizing his breathing had accelerated, he gave a small nod and smile, "Just keep a watch out for a little bit longer?"

Obito nodded back, but didn't return his smile.

He wasn't losing a member of his team again. Clenching his jaw, he his thumb to each of his fingers on his right hand and pressed his palm at the center of the seal. Slowly, he turned his hand 90 degrees clockwise. The seal faded into a pale aquamarine color that was more gray in some areas and pink in the others. Across from him, Rin suddenly sagged.

Waving off their alarm, Rin smiled, "It's nothing. I think the seal _was_ interfering with my work." The light from her hands flared for a moment before vanishing, "I think that was the last of it."

The four of them sat in the dark, illuminated only by the soft fading glow from Kakashi's stomach.

Finding himself listing to the side, Minato hurriedly reached out to catch himself from falling.

"Minato-sensei?" He felt Rin reach out to touch his arm.

He laughed softly and gathered his thoughts, "Sorry, just a bit tired."

He could almost see Rin scowl. Before she could admonish him, he reached up to overlap her hand with his, "Kakashi, are you awake?"

He heard Obito move, presumably to wave a hand over Kakashi's face. "Nope. He's out."

"Ok, listen to me carefully, both of you. We need to get back to the village as quickly as possible. When we get there, Obito, I want you to henge yourself and hide with either Genma or Kushina. Don't let anyone know you're back just yet. Rin, take Kakashi to the Hokage and ask for his wife and Jiraiya. Do not tell anyone about the Sanbi, ok? Does Kakashi still have trouble with his eye?"

Rin answered, "Yea-"

He interrupted, "Ok, if anyone asks, say that Kakashi escaped, but exhausted himself using the sharingan. If he wakes before I do, make sure he keeps silent about the Sanbi."

"Before you do?"

Minato let out a breathless laugh, "Yeah, sorry to do this to you guys, but I'm going to summon Gamabunta, which will probably deplete my chakra reserves."

As the two of them started to protest, he popped the last of his soldier pills and smiled in exhausted relief. He couldn't have asked for a better welcome home.

-0-

Rin curled into Minato's side with an arm over Kakashi's legs. The four of them were tucked into the collar of the frog summon's happi vest.

Part of her wanted to giggle at how Kakashi's head was in Obito's lap. She almost wished she had a camera to capture either of their reactions when they woke up. Under the dim light of the crescent moon, she could see that Obito had fallen asleep with his head back and mouth wide open. She pressed her lips together and blinked fiercely as she smiled.

For the last week, she had been afraid that she was going to be the only one left on her team. Obito had died, Kakashi was missing, and Minato had been gone for three months. She reached behind Minato to grab Obito's scarred hand.

Things weren't perfect. She knew that. But, feeling the warmth emanating from the bodies surrounding her, she thought they could deal with that.

Team 7 was back.

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**A/N Cont:** Whoo! Ok, done with this fic. Not really happy with it, but I realized that there was way too much action to touch upon (as opposed to Minato's introspection) if I wanted to keep this a two-shot. WHATEVS. XD They're together. :throws up hands: idek.

I've thought a lot about a multichaptered sequel (titled **Forbidden Dreams** because of all the factors working against Team 7's happiness). I even have the beginnings of an end scene in my mind (Seriously, Kakashi's a huge troll. Obito was totally trolling the hell out of the Akatsuki as Tobi. Imagine the two of them trolling the hell out of their opponents as part of an epilogue scene). But unless I find a collaborator, the sequel's most likely going to be a drabble fic and I probably won't start it until after the whole current arc with Zetsu and Madara is over (like what the hell is going on there, not a huge fan of the latest manga releases). But well, who knows.

What'd you guys think of that Kushina scene? Couldn't resist myself. I guess part of me was still pissed at how Obito had killed Kushina and Minato.

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**Thanks**: I wouldn't have even considered a second chapter or multichaptered sequel without you guys: **I am the unknown**, **Prescripto13**, **Mystic Avantana**, **serin2**, **Guest1**, **VampireDoll666**, **Almost Ninja**, **WDW**, **Lang Noi**, **Morpheme**, **Everdark61**, **Linh02**, **Lyndana**, **Guest2**, **The Elemental King of Hell**, **Ensteinium**, **NurseTurtle**, **Adin Terim**, **not the usual baka**, **Alsyncrasy**, **Kuroyuki the Ryu**, **tyog56**, **ethereal-23**, **ClearShadows117**, **Anonymous**, **Circle**, **Lillian**


	3. Footprints

**A/N:** I wasn't going to add anything to this work, but I noticed the number of followers. So... I decided to write this random scene between this story and its sequel so that I could let this story's followers know that a sequel's been put up.

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**Interim**

**Footprints**

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Gai ran aimlessly around on his fiftieth circuit around the village. By now the patrols were used to his visits and often used him as an unofficial messenger. Despite the warm night, he shivered at the sight of a familiar clearing, where he had been ambushed with Kakashi. Slowing to a stop, he walked over to the tree where he had been tossed by Kakashi.

It had been a stupid gamble. He had known it the moment he had opened his eyes and saw realization dawn in Rin's eyes when he called her by Kakashi's name.

Looking up to the sky, he made a silent prayer. He would try to cover for her as long as he could, but either people knew him and Rin too well or he was terrible at assuming her identity. He suspected that his reputation as a straightforward shinobi would protect the two of them for a little longer, but it _was_ wartime.

He held out a hand and watched the speckled shadows dance across his palm in the soft wind.

He hoped his rival would understand why he had allowed Rin to go by herself_._ He didn't even consider the possibility that his rival wouldn't return.

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**A/N Cont:** Special thanks to Chosui for translating this into Chinese. S/he gave me the final push to post a sequel now rather than after the current manga arc, as I had planned.

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**Thanks to:** **treavellergirl**, **Prescripto13**, **VampireDoll666**, **Lyndana**, **Naruto**, **SupaCrazee**, **97chaoscat**, **ClearShadows117**, **Chosui**, **tsukinopen**, **Ariel** (No worries! I have friends in Taiwan :D Thanks for leaving a review!), **Luo Xiao** (No worries – your English is fine :) Thank you for reviewing!), **Silverlight10243**, **Coral**, **Molly Bergstrom**, **urs-v**, **Mirae Desciderium**


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